Fear Is Undefined
by Strengthx3
Summary: "Soul, wake up!" Something completely stronger than madness has been released upon the world, causing global destruction and calamity—A new kind of fear. Now, the place she could once call home is gone, utterly eradicated. With no memory of the cause, Maka Albarn awakens without the slightest clue of what to do or where everyone has disappeared to… (SoMa)
1. Empty

**Disclaimer: Soul Eater is owned by this dude named Atsushi Okubo and unfortunately I am not him. I only own the cover, which was designed and digitally drawn by me.  
(There were some technical difficulties so I had to repost this story U w U;)**

* * *

I – Empty

Awakening to bright lights was no different from any other morning for her. It was quite normal and simple, actually—she fought against the early sunlight for a few moments, squirming around in her warm bed and rubbing her head, before finally opening her eyelids and letting the bright light that seeped through the curtains fill her hazel eyes.

She would yawn and stand up, stretching her arms to reach up to the ceiling, and then swipe away the fabrics that covered the windows. Taking in a deep breath, she'd smile to herself: this was truly a good morning.

She'd hear a knock at her door and the warming voice of someone dear to her. She'd turn to find _him_ standing there, his hair a mess and his crimson eyes still hazy, but his sharp smile very sincere to see that she once again woke up with a smile on her lips. The light in the room would make her hazel orbs glow in a way that made him never want to stop staring into them.

Sometimes she'd smell the whiff of bacon crawling into the room, and she'd know that he'd taken the initiative to start making breakfast. He'd make her thank him since she's a lousy cook anyways and she'd puff out her cheeks in frustration.

That was when he'd finally approach her—she'd tilt her head up to keep her eyes locked on his red orbs— and lean down to lightly kiss the corner of her mouth.

Yes, this routine was so typical, but her heart grows warmer day by day, and it's something that she's willing to wake up to for the rest of her life.

But to her dismay, this was not one of those mornings.

Her eyes were still closed but she knew she was conscious. A blazing light that certainly wasn't the sun was burning through her eyelids, and her head was violently throbbing.

In fact, it wasn't just her head. She couldn't exactly point out what it was, but there were definitely sharp objects poking at her back, some even digging into her skin. She could barely feel her arms and legs, but she knew they were there. She wiggled her fingers and toes to make sure. As for sound, all she could hear was an ominous draft blowing through wherever the hell she was, so she could assume that she was outside.

How did she get outside?

Holding her breath, she finally decided to open her eyes slowly. It was a regret not even a second later, for she felt almost blinded from the heated light placed directly in front of her face. She shrieked from the pain and turned her head to the side, bringing her hands to her face to wipe away the droplets in her eyes. But as she shifted, whatever she was laying on must have disappeared, for she found herself tumbling and rolling down what felt like a hill of shards of glass and concrete. She cried out when she finally landed on a rough but leveled surface and her eyelids snapped open.

The sky was gray, and not the natural kind. There was not a cloud in sight; only ashes and dark particles that she's never seen before floated around aimlessly.

She began to panic as she sat up, a burning sensation tingling in her back. Her head twisted around to study the area that seemed so familiar but at the same time utterly repulsive—broken concrete and bricks were piled on top of each other with wires and wood sticking out here and there, indicating any sort of building that was once there was either burned or crushed. She looked behind her to notice that she was unconscious on top of a pile, and a powerful streetlight hung over the spot she was in by a mere electrical wire. If it weren't for that, she would've been crushed and killed in an instant. Looking down the street, she immediately noticed how barren it was. There was not a creature in sight. The only noticeable life were the leftover flames still burning on some buildings like a small campfire.

Her small breaths rapidly turned into heavy pants, and she brought her trembling hands to the sides of her head, her pupils dilating.

_Who am I?_

_Where am I?_

_What happened?_

She exhaled deeply and closed her hazel orbs.

_Maka Albarn._

_A three star Meister at the Death Weapon Meister Academy._

Good, she hadn't lost many crucial memories as far as she knew. Even so, that wasn't it all and she knew that she was suffering from some memory loss. She then began to name close friends and acquaintances from Tsubaki Nakatsuka to her own father, Spirit Albarn, and even remembering one of her greatest enemies: Medusa, who has been dead for the longest time. Medusa, the mother of her dear friend Crona, who was tortured and driven to madness under the witch's care. That snake was someone Maka _wishes_ she had forgotten; just thinking about her makes her furious. Even now, Crona isn't with her anymore, but she currently forgot what caused her pink-haired friend to part ways.

Maka released her head and attempted to pull herself up. Her left ankle stung a bit, but she was able to manage. She recalls suffering much worse when fighting the Kishin Asura... The older brother of another close friend, Death the Kid. The two were the sons of someone very important, but she can't specifically name him right now. She gets the feeling that this person didn't even exist anymore...

The ash blonde proceeded in a random direction of the street, her eyes roaming around. It looked like a war brewed through the place, but a feeling told her that she was standing on the remains of the city she lived in.

"There's no way..." she muttered under her breath.

There was a sheet of cracked glass leaning against a pole to her right and she took a moment to study herself. The black stockings on her legs were completely ruined, either ripped or stained with dried blood. Her shoes and uniform were absolutely dirty (she made a mental note to clean it when she returned home, wherever that was), and her pigtailed hair was messy and uneven. Someone in her group of friends would probably be agitated at her for looking so unpleasant, but she forgot who contains that quality. Was it Crona? No, that didn't seem to fit at all.

The only item she noticed that still managed to illuminate beautifully was the silver chain that clung to her neck and chest. Dangling at the bottom of it was a circle with a spike sticking out of the side that had coy eyes and a jagged smile engraved in the center. She took it in her hand and smiled as if it represented something very important. In fact, it reminded her quite a lot of—

Maka sharply drew in her breath.

_Lord Death._

_Death City._

_Soul Evans._

Turning on her heal, she reluctantly cried out, "Soul!" and took off in the opposite direction in search of the most important person in her life. The more she ran, the more everything hurt but she didn't care. She'd rather die than be left alone in this annihilated world without him.

_'What the hell is going on?!'_

* * *

_"Look at this," Soul abruptly snapped, leaning over Maka's desk and slapping what seemed to be the school newspaper right on top of her work._

_Maka's fingers twitched to punch his lights out for interrupting her studying, but she held herself back. "What? It's just the school newspaper," she retorted in the same attitude as his._

_"Page six," he continued, turning his gaze elsewhere. "Main article."_

_She snorted in response but picked it up and began to search. "Ah, here it is..." she muttered once she found the spot. "'Under the anonymous votes of many fellow students roaming the halls of the DWMA,'" she read, "'it is adequately obvious to conclude that not only are Meister Maka Albarn and Death weapon Soul Evans one of the strongest pairs in the academy, but there is evidence of a— ...A secret, passionate romance between them?!'"_

_Soul shook his head. "I can't believe they published crap like that. So uncool."_

_Maka paid no heed to him. Her eyes were burning through the paper as she scanned the rest of the page. There were pictures filling the borders of them walking together and smiling, a few laughing, one with Soul carrying her books for her, and the largest one of him embracing her during Kid's inauguration ceremonial banquet. He had her lifted into the air by her waist during a dance, a heartfelt smile on both of their lips._

_Maka couldn't help but admit that she appreciated the newspaper club for capturing such a memorable shot, but that didn't excuse them. Indeed, these photos were completely unauthorized and unknown to the two, and to top it all off, there was a bulleted list at the bottom that reasoned why they are "obviously" a couple._

_"T-This is outrageous!" Maka exclaimed, her cheeks and ears burning in embarrassment. "They have no right...!"_

_"I already talked to Kid," the albino interrupted. "He's gonna make sure it all gets taken down ASAP."_

_"Too late for that! It's been published and probably read by everyone, already." She narrowed her eyes and made a sick face. "I can't believe this. What in the world make them think that we're secretly a couple?"_

_Soul leaned over her shoulder and pointed at the bottom at the page. "Well, they listed it right down here—"_

_"I am about to vomit on you, Soul."_

_He shrugged. "Listen, I completely agree with you. I mean, it's pretty obvious that I'm gay." Maka whipped her head around to stare him down with widened eyes. "I'm joking, Maka," he quickly added before bursting into laughter._

_She blinked and covered her smile with her hand. "That's debatable," she said. "You're an idiot."_

_"Yeah, but I guess you can say I'm your idiot." He grinned and rested his chin on his hand. He couldn't deny that the signs were there, so he couldn't blame everyone for taking notice. She was the only girl he really paid attention to, despite him having such a large fan club. He'd play the piano for her and no one else and tell her all of his troubles without the fear of being embarrassed. After all, it's not like he could rely on Black Star for support, and Kid wasn't around much anymore._

_He may have some feelings for her, but right now he just wants to tease her for a bit and see where that will lead them. False public announcements would only disrupt their steady pace._

_"You see that?" someone whispered behind them._

_"Yes!" There were three girls. "I knew they were dating!"_

_"They're so cute together!"_

_"Maka Albarn is so lucky to be with someone so gorgeous..."_

_At the same time, Maka and Soul stood straight, and turned to face the three girls, with flustered faces._

_"We're not dating!"_

* * *

What was scaring her most was the distinct gray sky that seemed to follow her wherever she ran to. Absolutely nothing about it changed; it was as if someone painted it perfectly without a single smudge or speck.

Maka came to a halt when she arrived at a certain street: the street that her apartment stood on. She felt a lump in her throat as she slowly proceeded down the street again, her eyes analyzing the difference in each and every detail. "Where is everyone...?" she uttered inaudibly. She tried to remember, but that only caused her headache to worsen and she shook her head. "Damn it all... I hate this! I need to find Soul!"

Climbing over the tiles of a roof placed in the middle of the street, she found herself standing right at the door of her apartment building. She stared at the structure for a brief moment before cautiously carrying on inside. The lights in the lobby hung and dangled from the ceiling by a few wires, causing her to keep her focus on them.

The ash blonde made a run for the stairs, which were slightly in tact if not counting for the sharp metal that stuck out in a few places. As she dashed up flights to get to the top floor, she began to wonder what even made her think that Soul was here to begin with.

"My Soul Perception!" she suddenly gasped, stopping on her heels and clutching onto one of the bars so she wouldn't fall. Hoping that she still knew how to use this ability, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

As expected, the area was completely abandoned. There was absolutely nothing within the range of her perception—nothing except the dimly lit soul that rested far above her head.

Her eyes shot opened and she smiled in relief, continuing her journey up the stairs. It was him. She was sure of it. It _had_ to be. She pushed open the door to the top floor and her eyes widened in shock. The roof protecting the entire sixth floor was gone. It looked like it had been ripped off and tossed somewhere else. Maka shook her head and still ventured down the hall.

The soul remained still right in her apartment and in her mind she knew it was definitely her weapon. With no reluctance, she pushed open the front door, which resulted in it breaking off of the silver hinges and plummeting to the ground.

But what was really concerning her was why and how the apartment became so destroyed. She assumed it might have been from the loss of the roof. Dust and dirt polluted the air in the living room and kitchen. Large pieces of concrete, enough to crush a body, lay scattered everywhere. The gray sky could be seen through the pipes and wires that stuck out of the walls. She even took note of a couple of black scorpions lurking around.

"Soul?" she called loudly, rushing over to her room and pulling the broken door off of the entrance. She grunted as she threw it to the side, and looked back to see the white haired boy. He was sitting on the floor looking about as roughed up as she was, his back against the wall, his eyes closed, and his lips slightly parted.

"Soul!" Maka cried, hurling herself onto the floor at him and pressing the side of her head against his chest. She heard and felt a steady heartbeat, and his breathing rate was normal, meaning that he was just unconscious. She lifted her head to level her face with his, tears welling up in her eyes as a weak smile formed upon her lips. "Thank goodness..." she murmured, resting her hand on his cheek and gently brushing her thumb against his skin.

After a moment of relief, she decided to move her hands to his shoulders and lightly shake him. "Soul..." she said softly. "Please, wake up. I need you." He seemed to stir a bit and his eyelids were twitching, so she gave him a moment to collect himself—

The ground beneath them began to violently tremble and Maka stumbled onto her back. "What the...?!"

Her question was cut off by a deafening screech—one that sounded like it came from a bird.

As Maka crawled back over to Soul, the winds began to pick up, blowing her hair all over her face. The pain in her head swelled up again and she was forced to squint her eyes. She looked up to the gaping opening in the ceiling to find the source of the noise and fear instantly took over her body.

Towering right over Maka's room was an abnormally large vulture, its meters-long wings flapping over them to keep itself in place. Its thin, red eyes found its way to the two, piercing straight through Maka's soul. She knew for a fact that this wasn't a normal creature. It's beak looked large enough to fit her entire body inside, and judging from the faded crimson stains on it, it wouldn't hesitate to test that theory. It wasn't just the size of it that made it strange, though; planted on its head was what seemed to be the horns of a wildebeest. Its pitch-black body had patches of shiny silver feathers that made the serpentine varmint look slightly graceful. To finish it off, it's slender neck was tightly clamped by a slim metallic cuff.

The frightening creature tilted its head and glowered at Maka.

She held in her breath and shook Soul again. "W...Wake up..." she whispered. The vulture's neck lowered as it began to lean closer, the rumbling of its growling breath felt in her chest. "Soul—!"

The vulture dipped its head down and its beak plowed through the wood the two once sat on, for Maka had pulled Soul and herself out of the way almost a little too late. "Damn it!" she yelled angrily, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and hoisting him up to his feet. Using all of the strength she had left, she rushed out of what was once her home and escaped down the stairs. On the way down, she felt the building continue to shake, which told her that the vulture was still searching for them, and it probably won't stop until it finds and kills them. "This isn't a kishin..." she kept repeating to herself. "_This_ isn't a kishin!"

She slipped on a puddle of dirty water once in the lobby and collapsed onto Soul. She grunted in disgust but still pulled Soul back up. "Soul, get up!" she shouted. "This isn't cool of you! Come _on_!"

There was another screech right outside and the glass to the windows shattered. Maka gasped to see that the vulture was peering through the broken window directly at her. She stared back at it, a black dot swirling around its back pupil in that pool of red, which completely engrossed her.

A claw came crashing through the wall and grasped onto their bodies before she could even move. It pulled them outside and Maka was so shocked that she had released Soul, and he fell into the street. "No, wait! Soul!" she screamed, reaching out to him as the vulture hauled her off the ground.

Soul only laid there, his eyes still shut as she was pulled into the air.

* * *

_It was the end of the day. _

_Maka had her head resting on the desk with her arms over it, covering her long, messy, unkempt hair that looked like splattered paint. A few papers were cast beneath her; they were tests with many red marks all over the page. She only pushed them off the desk in hopes of it landing in her bag, and she left it there if it didn't._

_A hard hand was slammed right next to her face, causing her to jolt up and find Black Star standing next to her, his face furious. After a second, her dull eyes looked away from him and she placed her head back in it's original position without a word._

_Looks like Black Star had to be first to speak. "You know what's really been pissing me off about you lately, Albarn?" he growled._

_She shrugged him off. _

_"Hey, pay attention to me!" He yanked at her arm to pull her up, inciting her to cruelly slap his hand away._

_"Don't touch me," she hissed._

_The blue haired boy snorted. "Is that what it takes to get you to react to something?"_

_Sighing, she gathered her belongings and turned to leave, but he cut her off. "Maka, you need to stop," he told her. "It's actually disgusting to look at you the way you are right now."_

_"Thanks."_

_"The great Maka Albarn: Once at the top of the class is now failing every assignment she gets." He began to lean closer. "Hasn't gone on a single mission in weeks. Can't even pull herself out of bed. Is barely eating or sleeping to begin with. Doesn't speak a word to anyone anymore, and it's all because—"_

_"Shut up! Don't you dare preach to me, Black Star!" she shouted angrily, pushing him away. _

_He threw his hands up. "Look at you, you're a mess!"_

_Her fists were clenched. "I don't care!"_

_"Oh, that's right. You don't care about anything anymore," he countered sarcastically, watching Maka's bottom lip start to quiver. "And you know what the worst part is? You cling onto Soul like he's your life support because he takes the time and effort to care for you, and you don't even put that effort into helping yourself!" He pointed a finger at her. "If you thought you were weak before, that's nothing compared to now! If you don't get your shit together, Maka, then Soul is just wasting his time!"_

_At this point, Maka was quietly sobbing, her shoulders lightly shaking with each gasp. However, Black Star's face remained hard. Even the few students who were in the room watched them curiously, pretending not to be there. "I'm ashamed of you, Maka. You're..."_

_The weapon of Maka Albarn unexpectedly stepped in between them, unknown to the two that he had entered the room. "That's enough, Black Star," the albino said lowly, his back facing his best friend._

_Said Meister raised an eyebrow, but took a step back. "You know I'm right, Soul," he said._

_"That gives you no permission to be an asshole." Soul was wiping away Maka's tears with the sleeve of his uniform._

_"She's pathetic. She needs a reality check!"_

_"It's only been two weeks, Black Star!" he snapped, turning his head to the side to glare at him. "Not everyone can be as strong-willed as you! Let her take as much time as she needs!"_

_Black Star only scoffed in response, lowering his chin into his scarf. He watched Soul pull Maka close and lead her out of the room, not even looking back to him._

_"...I'm sorry..." Maka apologized quietly in the empty hallway, looking at the ground. "For being so troublesome..."_

_Soul's unsettled features softened and his hand reached for her hair. "You didn't do anything wrong," he told her with comfort. "Just keep trying your best, okay?"_

_Maka gazed into his crimson eyes for a moment before nodding and leaning her head onto his shoulder, sighing._

_Soul gladly held onto her._

* * *

The rough skin of the vulture's claw only made it harder and more painful for her to struggle free. But even if she were to be, Maka would only plummet to her death, for she was being carried high above the surface of the street. At a certain point, the vulture ceased it's ascend. It remained flapping in its place and she took the moment to gaze over the city.

As expected, everything was destroyed. Smoke rose from many places, but not a soul was in sight. She then looked to the highest point of the city, where the DWMA was supposed to stand. The sturdy fortress that she also called a home everyday was now just a ginormous junkyard of metal and concrete with a few red cones sticking out like a broken bone.

"No..." she whispered, her eyes widened in shock. The only thing standing high above the rubble was a large dark red flag with a black-filled circle in the center. Surrounding the circle was a bunch of choppy lines in the form of dashes.

Breaking her concentration, the vulture let out another cry and the claws began to release its grip on her. Maka felt her stomach sink. "S-Soul..." she whispered, and before she knew it, she felt her weight disappear.

_'This is it.'_

After everything she's been through, The Great Maka Albarn was going to die as clueless as when she woke up. She's the girl who went underground and faced the kishin Asura, but failed. The girl who countlessly fought Crona and saved him before he disappeared from her life. The girl who went to the moon, _killed_ the kishin, and made it back.

And finally, the girl who fell in love with the greatest Death Scythe to exist, which she created herself.

And _this_ was how she was going to die.

Helpless, pathetic, and weak—Just as Black Star once told her. She truly did fight through everything, alone or not—from her physical injuries to her depression—but in the end, everyone is weak before they die.

She closed her eyes and waited for her body to splat grossly into the ground. Soul would probably wake up and find whatever would be left of her corpse, and who knows what he'll do after that? Maybe he would join her.

But she was going to see him again, because as if it were some miracle, there was another cry in the sky and Maka was caught by another rough pair of claws. Everything spun around until she found herself dizzily lying on the ground again, right next to Soul.

Standing firmly tall in front of her was a bald eagle, much smaller than the vulture but still supernaturally large. The moment Maka's senses came back into place, she saw the violet soul flaring inside of the bald eagle.

A witch.

Before she could say anything, the eagle took flight with a screech and darted right at the vulture, ramming its sharp beak into the demonic creature's neck. The vulture cried out and dropped right onto the apartment building.

"I don't understand..." Maka muttered, watching the eagle tackle the vulture and rip its feathers out. "If the eagle is a witch, then could the vulture be a monster just like Blair and Free...?" Yes, she did remember those classified as monsters to be neither a witch nor kishin while still having similar properties to them. But regardless, monsters did have souls, and that vulture did not have a soul.

Maka had so much more questions to think about, but when the eagle turned its head to her and screeched angrily, she knew that was a command to get the hell out of there. She went to pick up Soul again (who was still unconscious) and rushed down the street in search of a sanctuary, somewhere far from this battle.

As she neared a corner, she heard a loud boom and dared to turn around to look back. The vulture had the eagle pinned on the ground with its claws, a river of blood flowing down its dark neck. The eagle was violently struggling beneath it, flapping around her beautiful brown wings. Maka had once learned that when the bald eagle would cry, it was a symbol of freedom to Americans; but the cries of this bald eagle were painful and rash, like nails clawing at a chalkboard.

This bald eagle was scared.

Maka squinted her eyes to see herds small black dots begin to move out of the rubble nearby the battle and creep over to the witch, causing her to scream even louder. The ash blonde couldn't clearly tell what it was from this distance and she surely wasn't going back to find out. The witch was going to be killed for certain, and if Maka didn't leave, her sacrifice would be in vain.

That's when she saw that the witch's last resort was being used. Her brown and white feathers began to detach from her body, one by one, and floated into the air surrounding her and the vulture as if it had a specific destination. Within seconds, there were at least a hundred feathers levitating around them.

The vulture stared at them in confusion, hissing at them darkly before one suddenly exploded right in its face. The one feather that exploded seemed to be the detonator, for the rest of the feathers were soon to follow, effectively devouring both the vulture and the eagle in a swirl of flames. Maka shut her eyes as the dust and smoke blew by.

Once everything had cleared, there was nothing left but the shriveled up charcoal remains of the two birds and the glowing purple soul of the witch.

Silence took over the area once again. Still frightened, Maka almost went back to retrieve the soul but stopped when she saw the black mass appear from the crumbled city pieces again. It crawled over the bones and burnt flesh of the birds and piled upwards until it engulfed the witch's soul. It then wriggled away and dissipated back into the debris.

After standing there in distress for what seemed like hours, Maka regained control of herself and continued on in the opposite direction.

If she looked back at her demolished home one more time, she'd probably break out into tears.

* * *

It was about a half hour before Maka had finally found a decent and vacant building for her and Soul to occupy for the time's being. Ironically, it was the pub where her father was always found with Blair and those two other witches Maka couldn't remember at the moment.

She laid Soul down in a room with a long couch and left for a moment to scope out the place. It was abandoned, and she wasn't sure if she was glad or not. The fact that there was absolutely no one around except her weapon horrified her. And then there was the eagle witch...

She returned to the room, realizing that Soul was the last person she could rely on, as always. She hoped that he still had his memory more in tact than hers when he wakes up.

"Soul," Maka groaned, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him more roughly this time. "You've been asleep for too long."

She will admit that she was worried. Soul had been unconscious throughout that entire battle between the vulture and the eagle, which could have woken up the dead. Sighing and deciding to turn to her final option, Maka raised her arm and gave him a clean blow to the cheek with the palm of her hand.

Soul gasped for air and sat up straight, his eyes snapping open and quickly fixing on his meister. Maka sighed again, this time with relief, and she dropped her head for a moment. "Finally nice of you to wake up, Soul..." she said, a hint of humor in her voice. He blinked and stared at her in confusion without a response. Not even waiting for him to reply, she lunged herself at him and tightly embraced the white haired boy. "I'm glad—"

Soul crudely jumped up and shoved her onto the floor.

"Ow!" she hissed, glaring up at him. "What the hell is your problem?!" She stood up with tightened fists, ready to charge at him, but she stopped the moment she saw him back away with a familiar look in his eyes.

Fear.

"Soul, what's wrong?" she asked, her impatience getting the better of her voice. "Say something!" He shook his head rapidly. His back was against the wall and he was slightly hyperventilating. "S-Soul...?" She stepped towards him, which shockingly caused him to trip onto the couch and continue to crawl away from her.

Maka took a moment of silence to register the scene before her. She opened her mouth to say something, but she hesitated and her voice cracked when the question finally came out.

"...Do you know who I am?"

Another shake of his head, only this time it was slower.

* * *

**EOC.**

**Well, I should start this off saying that I have a boner for SoMa hehe.**

**Anywhore.**

**WHAT'S UP, SLUTS. I apologize for my long hiatus. Not gonna lie, I've been trying to keep up on a lot of anime like Code Geass, Neon Genesis, Evangelion, Kill la Kill, SnK, etc. Regardless, this story is kind of a comeback and is initiating me to write more Soul Eater. **

**But right now, I'm really hooked on this post-manga idea. After reading the most incredible Code Geass fanfiction, aka generally the most incredible fanfic I've ever read in general (which sadly hasn't updated since 2010 *screaming*) I was inspired to write just as well as the author did while taking place where the manga left off— no OCs (as a main character or with a canon), no made up dimensions, nada. I wanna completely stick to Soul Eater for this one the best I can.**

**SoMa.**

**Obviously.**

**OTP yo.**

**And I'm gonna try to make each chapter at least 5,000 words. Really wanna make this as long as I can. I strove for 6,000 in this chapter but sighhhh I didn't. Sorry.**

**P.S. Flashbacks will happen a lot huehuehue~ U u U**

**Today Is A Beautiful Day~**

**-Strength**


	2. Nightmare

**Disclaimer: Hear the news? Soul Eater Not! is in the production of becoming an anime~ (kinda why I got back into writing this stuff xD Seriously, I'm really sorry for my hiatus.)**

**I don't own Soul Eater /incoherent sobbing/ Sorry for any grammar errors btw, I'm writing most of this stuff at one in the morning xD But more dialogue in this shitty chapter, yay~!**

**This story is honestly just a sudden burst of ideas; I don't even know if it's that good.**

* * *

II – Nightmare

Maka was biting the bottom of her lip and staring anywhere _but_ Soul. Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, but she sucked in her breath to keep them from falling. Her mind was in utter chaos. Neither her nor Soul had moved for a few minutes now, yet he kept his gaze locked on her.

"I-If this is a joke..." she finally started, "It's not funny." When she glanced back at him coldly, she saw that the confusion and suspicion on his face were true.

Soul has amnesia.

Not knowing what else to do, Maka released a loud sob and buried her face into her hands, quickly sinking to her knees on the dirty floor. "No...!" she drawled out, hanging her head as low as her knees. "Y-You can't! That's not fair! Why?!" She was shaking out of anger with each statement. The pressure of her hands against her face was hurting, but all she could think about was how repulsive she was; whatever had happened before she woke up, she was somehow separated from Soul and allowed him to lose his memory. If only she had woken him up sooner, maybe things would have turned out differently. Or maybe if she hadn't even let them get separated in the first place. But all she knows how to do is cry helplessly until he comes to her rescue like a knight in shining armor.

It was her fault.

Soul kept staring at her as she collapsed. The tension in his body slowly eased and he dared himself to shift a little bit closer to her. His eyes saddened once he heard her cries grow louder, so he scrambled up and started to search around the room, not really sure what to look for. He opened a few cabinets behind a filthy bar to only have multiple broken bottles of liquor spill out at his feet, making him jump back. He then walked over to a closet in a hallway and looked inside to find a standardly made blanket. He pulled it off of the shelf and fluttered it outwards. Overlooking the slight dust, it was a soft and long fabric, making it perfect for keeping warm.

He ran back into the room to find Maka still in the same place as he left her. He cautiously approached her and kneeled just a few inches away from her. He doesn't know her name or what their relation is, but something told him that they were close and that she was safe to be near; she'd only startled him before. Besides, he didn't really want to see her cry.

Soul threw the blanket over her back and wrapped it around her shoulders, making her shudder in surprise. She looked up at him, her cheeks stained with tears, and he only blinked back at her.

"...Why won't you talk?" she asked in a rasp voice. He tilted his head in thought and shrugged, and she narrowed her green eyes. "Try... Try and say something. _Anything_." He obeyed, opening his mouth to make a sound but nothing came out, followed by a hopeless shake of his head and a frown. Maka mirrored the same look.

_'Strange...'_ she thought_. 'I don't recall amnesia ever taking someone's voice away... Unless it's Post-Traumatic Amnesia. Yeah... That must be it. I just need to know what the traumatic incident was.'_

Soul lifted his hand and pointed at her. She arched a brow and he rolled his eyes, rapidly pointing his finger back and forth between him and her. "O-Oh..." she stammered. "You... You want to know who we are?" He sadly nodded and she averted his eyes to look at a few scorpions crawling into a hole in the corner of the room. "Um... M-My name is Maka Albarn..." She took in a deep breath and attempted to give him a smile. She could feel how pathetic it was, though. "And your name is Soul Evans." She watched him try to mouth his name before making a sharp grin that always made her heart skip a beat.

Soul then stood up and plopped himself back onto the couch. When she stayed kneeling on the floor unsurely, he shyly patted the cushion next to him and moved away to give her (and himself) space. Maka tried to send him another thankful smile and clutched the blanket closer to her as she stood up. "It's kind of funny, actually. You're not really the quiet type..." she murmured, sitting down next to him. He kept his focus locked on her, making her shift uncomfortably. What was she supposed to say?

"Um, Soul..." she began. "Do you... Still remember how to transform into a weapon...?" She would have continued on if it weren't for the appalled look that quickly washed over his face, his eyebrows furrowing. She tried to laugh it off. "N-Never mind. Forget that I asked anything." He tilted his head again in confusion.

She could tell that he had so many questions, but she herself barely knew what was going on, and there was no way she could feed him every single memory lost; he's already hopelessly lost enough. She can't even state their relationship, for it might scare him away so suddenly.

Not only this, but she also has to concern herself with where they should go. They can't stay in this pub forever, and Maka can't sense anyone around, so for all she knows, they can all be dead (how that's even possible boggles her mind). There's even a possibility of them encountering a monster again, and since Soul is memoryless, there's no way they'll be able to fight against it.

She might as well give up.

Without another word, Maka laid down on the far end of the couch and prayed that Soul wouldn't follow. Unfortunately, he didn't take the hint, and he obliviously crawled on top of her, his hands and legs caging her in, and his head cocking to the side inquisitively.

She tightened her fist and refused to look at him, hiding half of her face under the blanket. "Please, I just... Want to rest for a while..." she weakly bit out.

Soul made almost a pout, but complied to her request and decided to venture around the building again. As for Maka, she was breathing at a slow and steady pace, as if to calm herself down.

_"Your first therapy session with me will focus on breathing, okay? ...Don't worry, we're going to take it slow, and I won't give up until you're happy again. Now, follow my lead, Maka..."_

"Breathe..." she whispered to herself, temporarily pushing all conflicting thoughts to the back of her mind. "Just as instructed..." After a few minutes, her eyes were almost shut—

Maka bolted upwards at the sound of a glass bottle plummeting to the marble floor in a distant room. "Soul?" she immediately called, standing with precaution. She mentally smacked herself for expecting a response from him, and she slowly proceeded out of the room and towards the area of the crash. She eventually found lying on the floor a broken bottle of whiskey that fell off of a shelf, but she noticed that a door at the end of the hall had a glowing light inside. As she approached, she heard soft whispers and giggles echoing off of the walls that made her shiver.

Who was talking?

"Soul!" Maka said loudly, swinging open the door to a room filled with lit up candles. Sitting in the center of the room was Soul... And another young girl. She was giggling and holding onto his hands warmly, and he was smiling in return.

Jealousy kicked in.

Maka stomped in front of Soul and faced the girl, swiping her hands away from him. The girl blinked and tilted her head back to stare up at Maka, almost as if to study her. Her eyes were a bright maroon/orange mixed color, completely off from her black and white appearance. Her skin was extremely pale and she looked like she belonged in a casino—her short black hair was covered by a black top hat with a white feather, her white, short-sleeved, collared shirt was tightly clamped to her body under a leather black vest (which must have been uncomfortable to her bust), matching her heeled leather boots, and Maka could swear that she owned belts thicker than this girl's short, tight, white shorts.

"Who are you?!" the ash blonde demanded, green eyes piercing through maroon ones. She felt Soul stand up behind her and move her aside to sit next to Casino Girl again. Maka's eyes widened when he began to wave her off. "Get away from—!"

"He's saying that I'm okay to be around," said Casino Girl in a cute, sly voice, standing up as well. She was a little bit shorter than Maka. "Jeez, I expected that a meister with such a strong bond with her weapon would be able to comprehend what he's saying, even when he's mute."

Maka wanted to rip that smug grin off her face with every fiber of her being, but instead used that force to grab Soul's arm and yank him back behind her protectively. "Soul, from what I experienced before, she might be here to kill us—!"

"But I'm not," the girl interrupted, arching a brow. "Dumbass."

"Be quiet and answer my question!" Maka snapped. "Who are you?!"

She sighed. "You know, they told me you're stubborn, but they didn't say you'd be such a possessive bitch." Casino Girl smirked at the livid features forming on Maka's face. "How cute."

That did it for her. Right as Maka lifted her fist to punch her lights out, Soul snatched her wrist and pulled it back. "Soul!?" she gasped, looking back to only have her heart torn in two by the bitter glare in his eyes. He shoved her away and stepped in between the two girls, his back protectively facing the dark haired girl.

"He's basically telling you to trust me," Casino Girl said nonchalantly, checking her nails. "What a terrible bond you two have, regardless of him being mute."

Maka yearned to scream, but she only clenched her teeth and sent a venomous glare at Soul, who didn't even flinch. "Who are you?" she growled again.

The girl stepped out from behind Soul and removed her hat with one of her white-gloved hands, revealing two long, dark red antennae sticking out of her head. "Emmett the Ant Witch, at your service," she said, bowing carelessly before standing up straight and wrapping an arm around Soul's. Maka's eyes narrowed. "I take it this cutie is Soul Evans, and... _You_ must be Maka Albarn." There was a hint of disgust in her voice when saying "you".

_"Don't touch him_," Maka warned, taking a step forward and pulling him back again. "Soul, you can't trust witches. They'll kill you at any second."

Emmett rolled her eyes. "And I thought that the last few years of peace between witches and humans had created a comfortable bond between us. But I suppose not considering what's coming from the greatest meister of the DWMA."

"How do you know who we are?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Then stop dodging them!"

Soul kept switching his gaze between the two as if he didn't know who to pick. "Listen," Emmett began to pace around the room, "my mission was to find you two and I did, so gather whatever crap you may have and follow me back to base. Everyone's waiting for you."

_Everyone?_

Another question from Maka. "Who's everyone?"

Emmett groaned impatiently. "Quit playing stupid; you know who everyone is."

"No, I don't'! You must be pretty naïve to think that I'll trust you, witch!"

"Hm, Mr. Evans seems to trust me," the pale girl replied, winking at Soul. He smiled.

"No, he doesn't," Maka said lowly. She can't reveal that he has amnesia. If this witch really was an enemy, she'd use it against them. "He's just an idiot."

Emmett's smile quickly turned into a scowl. "Look, _meister_, you should know by this point that I'm on _your_ fucking side. If I really wanted to kill you two, I would've snuck up and stabbed you in the neck, but I didn't. You both know very well that you're important factors to our survival. I need to bring you back."

Her green eyes stared at her coldly. "We're not going anywhere, and if you lay another hand on Soul, I swear—"

"What bullshit!" the witch suddenly exclaimed, leaning into Maka's face. "My own siblings and comrades are sent back into this hellhole day after day to look for _you_! In the end, most of them are killed by those... Those demonic creatures! Show some appreciation for what we do!"

"'Demonic creatures'...?" Maka repeated quietly, and couldn't help but ask, "You mean like the gigantic vulture that tried eating us earlier today?"

Emmett rolled her eyes and nodded her head slowly. "Yes, Maka Albarn, that's what we've been fighting against for the past few—" She paused in the middle of her sarcastic remark to study Maka's confused face. The witch's features slowly became more worried. "...Why do you sound so confused?" The meister only frowned and turned her head away, giving no response.

Now, it was Emmett's turn to become speechless. She peered into Maka's green eyes as if the truth would be found in them.

"Shit, you have amnesia, don't you?" she stated loudly. When Maka refused to reply again, the witch kneaded at her pale forehead under her black bangs and muttered another curse under her breath.

That was when Soul approached the two of them, cradling a scorpion with red spots in the palms of his hands. Maka shrieked and jumped back. "Soul, put that down! It might be poisonous!" She sounded like a mother scolding a child, and when he frowned in disappointment, she was forced to slap it across the room and into the wall. Soul looked so offended and hurt from her outburst.

This, however, was different from Emmett's reaction. Her pupils were dilated and her hands began to tremble at the sight of the scorpion that suddenly disintegrated into black dust on impact with the wall. Maka immediately took this into consideration.

Fear.

"We need to leave," the ant urged, her voice uneasy. _"Right now!"_

"W-Why?" Maka sputtered when her and Soul's wrists were snatched up.

"They know we're here, and if we don't go..." She paused as she shoved open a door to an alley with her shoulder. "You'll be fresh food and I'll turn into one of _them_."

"Wait...!" Maka tried pulling her hand away, causing Emmett to whip around and cup her face with her hands.

"Maka, listen to me," she ordered, her voice growing dimmer by the second. "I know we got off on the wrong foot a few minutes ago, but we're in great danger." She was whispering now. "I need you to trust me right now, and once we're safe, I'll fill you in on everything."

Part of the reason Maka nodded her head was just so Emmett could remove her hands from her face. The witch then proceeded to transform into her previously stated form: a small, dark red ant that was the size of Maka's pinky finger. She placed herself comfortable on the meister's shoulder and whispered, "Listen, you both need to stay hidden, but whatever you do, stay away from the shadows," she informed.

"Which way?"

"Go south; we need to leave the city."

Maka nodded and reached for Soul's hand, who flinched at her touch and took a step back. "Soul!" she groaned. "We need to go!"

He furrowed his eyebrows before giving her his wrist to latch onto. Sighing, Maka closed her eyes and began to use her weak perception to scan the area. Once she did, she could clearly see what Emmett was scared of so suddenly. There was a dark and ominous presence that consumed the area, but she couldn't pin point where it exactly was.

It was close, though, and quite powerful.

Pressing her back against the brick wall, she peered out of the alley and inspected the street. It was empty, and for some reason, that made her feel very uneasy. She'd at least like to know where her enemy was.

Unless the enemy was actually the witch...

"Maka, you need to hurry," Emmett breathed by her ear, making her wince. "I have little to no powers, so I can't protect you. Run as fast as your legs can!" The ash blonde nodded again and began to count down in her head.

Three... Two...

_'One!'_

She dashed out of the alley and turned to face the direction of where she was going, until she felt something missing from her hand.

She turned back to see that Soul had jerked out of her grasp and was still sticking around in the alley.

Her petrified eyes met his nervous ones.

"Soul!"

There was suddenly a flash of violet speeding past her, followed by a drift of wind, and Maka whipped her head around. Crouching just a few meters away from her was a dark violet wolf—sharp fangs, the horns of a bull, a metal clamp around its back right paw, and the same red eyes with black spots as the vulture.

"E-Emmett, just what exactly is that thing?" Maka demanded, her voice shaking.

"Run!" was her scream in response.

The wolf released a ferocious snarl and charged at Maka. She turned and tried to escape, but the beast was too fast and had already knocked her down, towering over her. It flared its teeth as if preparing to feast, the additional saliva dripping down her cheek and neck. She was too shocked to move.

That's when Soul had suddenly lunged himself at the wolf, knocking into its side with his elbow and pushing it off of the girl temporarily. In that amount of time, he grabbed Maka's arm and hoisted her up to her feet. She soon returned to her senses and made a break for it, hauling Soul with her. She heard the beast recover close behind, the sounds of its barks and footsteps getting closer by the second, but Maka couldn't pick up the pace. Yes, she was a very fast runner and could probably outrun it, but Soul seems to have forgotten what willpower he really holds. He was dragging them behind drastically, and because of this, the wolf managed to nip at his ankle.

He fell, accidentally taking Maka down with him, and the creature began to circle them, as if it knew there was no escape. Terrified, he buried his face into her chest and clung onto her. "Emmett, is there a way to kill it?" Maka whispered, sitting up and keeping Soul protected.

"You're the world's greatest meister! Do something!" cried the ant on her shoulder.

"I...!"

With Maka's luck striking again, there was a trembling roar behind them that echoed in the sky, causing everyone's attention to shift to the source. A beautiful mountain lion with glossy orange fur posed high and proud on the top of a wrecked building. Just as the wolf went to snarl back, the lion leapt off of where it stood and sprinted head first into it, hurling it into a building covered in shredded glass.

"That's another witch, right?" Maka spoke up. "Should we hel—?"

"You can't even help yourself!" She cut her off. "Our job is to safely retrieve you, and that's what she's helping us do. So get up!"

Though Maka felt a strong need to aid the second witch that saved her, she found herself quickly leaving the scene again, tugging Soul along with her. There was a painful cry of the lion from behind and the meister almost lost her footing. "She's doing fine," Emmett tried to convince her. "She's... Winning."

That was a lie, and Maka felt ashamed to keep on running.

* * *

_The jazz music in Soul's headphones was blasting at its highest volume to drown out the roaring thunder in the nighttime sky. He sat in his bed and stared at the ceiling, merely sinking in his own thoughts. His eyelids were nearly shut when saw a light from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Maka standing at his opened door in her pajamas, a distressed look on her face._

_Soul sat up and pulled his headphones off. "Hey, what's wrong?" he inquired before a small, playful smirk formed on his lips. "Afraid of the thunderstorm?"_

_"I had a nightmare," she said blankly, her head hanging down. He narrowed his eyes at her and was going to open his mouth to make a jesting remark like, "What are you, nine?" until she quietly added on, "...About my mother..."_

_His crimson eyes slightly widened in surprise and he sighed, but nonetheless, he reached his arms out towards her and motioned for her to embrace him. "Come here," he told her. Maka shut the door behind her and shuffled over to his bed, laying down by the edge away from him and pulling the sheets over her head._

_Holding in another sigh, Soul dropped his arms and shifted to the opposite end of the bed, letting her have her space. The thunder and lightning continued, and it wasn't until Soul was about to close his eyes again when he began to feel her flinch more with each uproar. He leaned up on his elbow and stared at her (whose back was to him), unsure if she was actually scared of the loud rumbling or if she was quietly sobbing._

_Regardless, he hated seeing her like this. He extended his hand out to her shoulder and rolled her over so she could face him. There were no tears, indicating that she was holding them back, but she still had a pained look in her eyes. The Death scythe then scooped her up into his arms and leaned back onto the headboard, pulling her body onto his lap and her head to the crook of his neck. _

_Maka's trembling began to cease, with the exceptional cringe every other crack of thunder. Soul was always warm, for he hated the cold—sometimes he'd even turn up the heat in the apartment higher than necessary—which was something she found so comforting. Shutting her eyes, she murmured a "thank you" and drifted asleep._

_As for Soul, he gently cradled her until she fell asleep. Every now and then, his eyes would shift back and forth from her to the rain slamming against the window across the room. This grave weather reminded him too well of the day the Albarn family had completely shattered into irreparable pieces. It was no wonder she had a nightmare._

* * *

"I'm only an ant, so this is the most I can do."

If Maka could recall correctly, they were settled in a drained lake that was in a small park somewhere in the between the DWMA and the outskirts of the city. They still had a long way to go, but when Emmett informed them that they were heading into a dangerous area, they came to a halt after a quiet voyage and tried to hide themselves. The witch dug a deep hole into the dirt wall that confined the water in that lake. She was even kind enough to make it very roomy, giving each individual a few yards of space, and start a fire.

"Here's to make up for my rudeness before. Is this good enough for you, your highness?" she asked, wanting to take it back after making it sound to much like a sneer.

Maka had her knees pulled to her chest and she only stared into the fire. "Thanks..." she mumbled. Soul sat on the opposite end of the flames, cautiously eyeing her. Once Emmett sat down, he scooted closed to her, and his girlfriend pretended not to take notice.

"Well?" Emmett broke through the silence, as usual. "Don't you have questions to ask me?"

Maka sighed heavily and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "...Where is everyone?"

"Dead," she spat, resting her chin in her hand and watching in slight amusement as Maka's face dropped. "...For the most part. Everyone that concerns you, though, should still be alive and kicking back at refugee camps in the deserts."

She rolled her green eyes. "Thanks. Second question—"

"If you want to know what happened to make the world look like this, then I can't really answer that. Nobody knows; a few weeks ago, the sky suddenly turned gray and these demons appeared."

"That's what these things are called?"

"Monsters get offended when we call those things monsters, so yeah, we refer to them as demons. You catch my drift?"

Maka furrowed her eyebrows. "I... Guess. So, you can't tell me what those mons— uh, demons are?"

Emmett's face scrunched up. "I can try, but everyone back at camp knows better than I do. I'm just an ant."

_'Not very helpful.'_ "You seem to say that a lot," she inferred.

"Well, it's because I am." She ruffled Soul's hair when his head rested on her shoulder, causing Maka's fingers to twitch. "That's all I am. Ants are one of the lowest and weakest witches to exist, even though there are so many of us."

"Don't touch him," Maka growled quietly, ignoring her little history lesson.

The witch seemed to enjoy annoying her judging by her smug grin. "Let's not get off topic, now. What's the last thing you remember?"

Hazel eyes formed a glare towards the other two. "I'm not sure. I certainly can't recall any of _this_, though."

"Well, _this_ has been going on for a few weeks, as I've stated numerous times before. I find it weird how you forgot it all."

"As for Soul... He doesn't remember anything at all—who he is, where he is, his weapon transformation... Who _I_ am..."

Maka's eyes lowered to the fire. With slight guilt, Emmett lightly pushed Soul away. "Er..." She scratched her chin awkwardly. "Have you checked for any head injuries? I've been petting him like a dog for a while and found nothing..."

"I know," Maka sighed. "That's what bothers me so much."

"It could've been the demons."

"How did they find us in the first place?"

"The scorpions. It's a spy system modeled after Lady Arachne's spiders." Emmett stretched her neck back. "Speaking of which, _you're_ the one who killed Milady, correct?"

"That's not of importance right now," Maka said coldly, standing up and brushing her skirt. "To be honest, I thought you'd be more helpful, but seeing as you'd rather fool around instead," she glanced at Soul, "I'm going to go rest. Wake me up if there's a problem." With that, left them for the end of the tunnel, laying down on her side and pulling her knees to her chest.

The albino seemed to stare her down along the way with great caution, and Emmett huffed. "You picked such a miserable girlfriend," she griped. He tilted his head as she folded her arms over her chest. "Whatever. Let's just leave her alone." He nodded and placed his head on her leg, curling up close to her. She sighed again, really hoping that it wasn't guilt that she was feeling. But she could definitely understand what he was trying to say—He's afraid of Maka.

* * *

_Only twice has Maka scared Soul, and the second was after they confessed to each other._

_"Thank you for this delicious meal," Soul said, pressing his hands together after consuming a yet another Kishin Egg in a successful mission from the academy's famous Death scythe and meister. They had previously taken a long hiatus from fighting due to Maka's depression, until Black Star had finally managed to make Tsubaki a Death weapon as well. Once that happened, Maka was back on her feet and ready to keep Black Star from taking her title._

_"You're welcome," Maka replied flatly. "That's our sixth kill this week."_

_"And it's only Tuesday evening," he smirked, smoothly slipping his arm around her shoulder. She blushed, which he found cute. "I say we sit down and watch a horror movie once we get home."_

_She scoffed. "Why? You think I'll get scared and hold onto you for dear life?" He snickered and she smiled. "__**After**__ we report back to Kid, then maybe," she said. "Hey, have you noticed that there've been a lot of clowns recently?"_

_"Clowns?" he repeated. "Uh, now that I think about it, I have been eating a lot of sour souls lately."_

_"Then we should tell that to Kid, too." He was about to respond when Maka's senses suddenly picked something up, and she twisted around on her heels. "Transform," she ordered. _

_He obeyed without a word and she roamed her eyes around the deserted area composed of tan boulders, rocks, and dead trees here and there. "I don't see anything," she whispered._

_The ground began to shake and Maka saw that certain parts lifted as if something underground was darting towards them. "Crap!" she exclaimed, but before she could react, another clown had dug out from the ground and rose to her face._

_**"What is your desire?"**_

_It rammed its thin hand into her ribcage so hard that the boulder she crashed into cracked, causing her to release her weapon. Ignoring the scythe, the clown continued to attack Maka, flashing its sharp teeth. Soul's first instinct, of course, was to keep his arm in the form of a scythe and go to assault the clown. _

_Once he approached, however, the clown switched its attention to him and quickly tackled him to the ground. Soul grunted as it held his transformed arm on the ground, squeezing it into the dirt, and he watched the clown's neck arch so its face could be at level with his._

_**"And what do you desire?"**_

_Soul refused to answer until the clown had turned its head back to his meister. She was shockingly standing in front of a shattered mirror with a sharp glass shard clutched in her bleeding hand. His eyes widened and he screamed her name when she slowly raised the glass to her neck. His cries were not heeded, and with no reluctance, she slid the glass from one side of her neck to the other, creating almost a bloody smile on her skin._

_**"She desires death."**_

_The weight of the clown was lifted off of his body and once Soul stopped screaming, he saw through his tears that the clown was gone, and Maka was towering over him, shaking him by the shoulders. "Are you all right?" she asked softly, helping him sit up. "We're lucky that Jackie and Kim were in the area."_

_He blinked and stared at her for a long time before noticing Kim and Jackie standing behind her, a red Kishin Egg in the hands of Jackie. "I-I..." he uttered._

_"That clown was an illusionist," Kim explained. "It was giving your mind fake images... What did you see?"_

_He felt a warm thumb brush over his moist cheek and his crimson orbs shifted back to his meister. Letting out a sob from the back of his throat, he grabbed her and pulled her close, pressing his head into her shoulder. "I won't let you die..." he whispered. _

_She was silent for a moment before sighing and returning the embrace. "I'm counting on you..." she muttered._

* * *

Emmett abruptly woke up to Maka's loud shrieking. The witch jerked up, knocking Soul off of her lap, and looked across the dim fire to find Maka trembling and lashing out at nothing in her sleep. She was crying out, and once she found nothing to claw at, her hands made their way to tear at her own arms.

"Oh, God," Emmett growled, running over to her and seizing her wrists to keep her from struggling. "Wake up!" she shouted, swinging the ash-blonde's body back and forth. When that didn't work, she reluctantly slapped the girl to consciousness.

Maka was startled when her eyes snapped open and her face slowly changed from panic to tranquil. She wasn't crying, but she looked like she really wanted to. She sighed and ran a hand through her already messy hair, her head bowing. "Sorry, I had a nightmare..." she mumbled.

"People don't throw tantrums like that when they have nightmares," Emmett countered, narrowing her eyes. "Did you maybe remember something in your sleep?"

"No... I-It's not important, honestly."

"What was it about?"

"It's _nothing_," she snapped,

"You scared the living hell out of me and Soul."

Maka noticed Soul crouching back far away from her. Her jaw tightened. "Sorry. I won't do it again." She laid on her side again to dismiss the witch right as her face suddenly lit up again. "Wait, Emmett! Do you know who Kim Diehl is?"

Emmett blinked. "You mean the tanuki? Of course; everyone knows her. She's the reason why a lot of refugees and witches were able to survive through major injuries."

Maka couldn't help but grin. "So you're saying that she's at your camp?" she asked hopefully.

"She basically runs the place."

"I need to see her as soon as possible, then! She might be the key to returning Soul's memories, and mine as well!" Maka hopped onto her feet as she exclaimed and high tailed for the entrance of their hideout. "Come on, we need to get moving!"

Sighing, Emmett tipped her hat at Soul, indicating for him to follow her. "Whatever you say, meister, as long as we don't die along the way."

* * *

**EOC.**

**I was so close to 6k words & shit ending ugh screams TT_TT**

**I was listening to the Madoka Magica soundtrack while writing most of this and my kokoro went brokoro, goodbye. **

**Anyways, already in the process of writing chapter thre think I've decided to make chapter four an entire flashback. Idk. But Kid is definitely gonna show up next chapte my sexy husbando~ I'm hoping chapters will be less boring once Black Star and other canon characters show up, which will definitely be next chapter.**

**I have midterms for the next two weeks though, so I can't promise anything immediately. I'll try my best, and best of luck to anyone else who has midterms as well.**

**Today Is A Beautiful Day~**

**-Strengthx3**


	3. Calling Out Your Name

**Disclaimer: ahAHA I changed the shitty title and it's still kinda poop but more relevant ; u ;**

**BUT I KINDA WANNA**

**Do a thing. But I'll ask maybe next chapter o u o; but I have the strongest urge to re watch Soul Eater just to scream at every SoMa moment.**

**Own Okubo don't does Eater I Atsushi Soul. **

**Yeah.**

**There may or may not be errors idk I've been pretty dyslexic lately.**

* * *

III—Calling Out Your Name

_It wasn't like he actually liked Maka, right? She was just a friend, right? A really, really close friend... That he lived with. And also was a girl... A cute and amazing girl with an adorable smile... Who happened to be the greatest meister he could ever ask for... In fact, she wasn't exactly someone he can easily let go of without a rough fight. Maybe he was a little possessive, but she's still just a really cute and amazing friend._

_Right?_

_Soul leaned his head back in his chair. Why, again, was his mind suddenly flushed with these affectionate thoughts about Maka?_

_Ah, yes._

_Death the Kid, that's why._

_Prior to Soul taking a moment of time to contemplate his indecisive thoughts about his meister, he had a rather stunning conversation with Black Star. The obnoxious boy had stormed into the classroom while Soul was trying to make a house of cards, shouting right at him:_

_"I heard Kid's trying to hook up with Maka!"_

_The albino's cards collapsed. "...Huh?" he grunted._

_The meister grinned mischievously. "You heard me!"_

_"Dude, at this point, you shouldn't pay attention to the bullshit you hear around this school," Soul dismissed, gathering his cards._

_"It's not bullshit!" he pressed on. "You wanna know what happened?"_

_His friend sighed, feeling edgy with where the conversation was going. "Go on."_

_"So, I was in the Death Room to try to convince Kid to end early my month of suspension from going on missions—"_

_The weapon cut him off. "Black Star, you scared a ten year old into a coma on your last mission! And that was six days ago!"_

_"Shh! That's not the subject right now!" Black Star continued, "Anyway, we were talking, he was starting to get pissed because I was," he paused to make quote on quote fingers, "'Interrupting his work,' and that's when Maka and Azusa walked in. Maka had to get in between because Kid was about to rip my face off, and then he calmed down."_

_"Is this going anywhere?"_

_His hands flew up. "I'm getting there! Then, right in front of us, Azusa started to question Kid on when he was going to 'bring about' the next heir to the reaper throne!" He laughed. "You should've seen the look on his face! And guess who she suggested for him to make a successor with?"_

_Soul was uncomfortable._

_"She said, 'If you're still looking for options, Maka's a fine young lady!'"_

_Soul was very uncomfortable._

_"Oh, God, Maka's and Kid's faces were so priceless! They were blushing and everything!"_

_"That doesn't really mean anything. I bet they didn't even take it seriously," Soul said, eyebrows furrowing._

_"Hm, I don't know," Black Star hummed, a smirk spreading on his face. "That's not what Liz and Patty have been saying. Liz said that Kid said he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with Maka. _That's_ hardcore."_

_"Again, it probably doesn't mean anything," Soul insisted. "Kid's weapons are always teasing him."_

_Black Star began to coo, "Oh, someone's jealous!"_

_"I am not!" he retorted._

_"Denying it will only prove my point!"_

_"Then what do you want me to do, lie and agree?"_

_The blue haired meister reached out and pinched Soul's left cheek. "Aw, I know you're not lying!"_

_Soul swiped his hand away. "Get outta here."_

_Black Star knew from his tone that he meant no harm. "All right, but I know you're curious, so since I'm such an amazing friend, I'll keep you updated on the lovely couple!" He grinned as he left the room._

_Soul grumbled to himself as he neatly stacked his cards. "Kid and Maka..." He rolled his eyes. "Please, that's ridiculous." After he found nothing else to keep himself busy with, he rolled into his never-ending thoughts about Maka._

_Speaking of, Maka then poked her head into the classroom and her eyes immediately landed on her weapon. "Ah, Soul!" she called out, earning his attention. "I'm going to Death Bucks with Kid later today, so is it okay if you make your own dinner tonight? Thanks!" She left before he could respond._

_Okay, maybe he was a little bit wrong._

* * *

In all honesty, Maka wasn't very fond of leaving her hair down when she was keeping herself active. It would smack her in the face, poke out her eyes, and slither into her mouth, especially in a windy environment. Therefore, she was surely in a grumpy mood throughout this exhibition to find the so-called "camp" that Emmett spoke of. The only person who was actually capable of fixing her hair nicely in any way was...

"Emmett," Maka said, breaking through the eerie silence between the three for the past two miles. Surprisingly, they were traveling casually in the open streets since the witch refused to let them hide in the shadows. _'As if this is any safer,'_ she thought sarcastically.

Emmett glanced over at Maka, her left arm locked with Soul's, who hadn't looked or given any attention to his meister for a long time. After all, he doesn't know her. "Yes?" the witch's flat, smug voice answered.

"What... Happened to Death the Kid?" she asked, and the short-haired girl immediately skidded to a halt with her heels. Maka paused as well. "Since he's the new God of Death now, he's surely living up to his position and leading us, right? How—"

"We don't speak of him," Emmett growled, continuing to walk ahead.

The ash-blonde blinked and followed. "What do you—"

"We do not speak of him!" she suddenly bellowed, the skin on her face wrinkling in fury. "It's like they say: speak of the devil and he shall appear! We no longer have a terrible reaper to lead us and that's the end of that!"

That was the wrong answer. Maka wanted to lash out and grip her fingers tightly around the witch's neck, screaming back anything she could manage to defend Kid. However, she managed to settle her anger into a sharp glare and clenched teeth. "What do you mean?" she pressed on. "What happened to Kid?"

"Did I not just say…!"

"You promised me answers, but I'm still just as confused as when I woke up!" she snapped, taking a threatening step towards them. "Start talking, Emmett!"

"God, you're persistent!" She smirked dangerously. "It must be nice for your weapon to be memoryless. He gets a break from your constant bitching!"

Blood was shed between the two when Maka knocked her right in the nose. Soul's body flinched at the shriek Emmett released, and he jumped back when she threw herself at his meister, her sharp nails digging into her cheek. Maka hissed and grabbed her thin arm, twirling her around and bending it backwards until she felt it crack.

The witch screeched again, this time sounding less human. She tried kicking her way free, but her effort made Maka want to laugh. "I'm stronger than you," she growled in her ear. "You're the weakest witch of all; what makes you think that you'll win?"

Emmett turned her head to the side and gritted her teeth before bending and throwing the pigtailed girl over her back and onto the ground. There was a glow in her eyes as she hurled herself onto Maka, wrapped her hands around her neck, and squeezed. Maka grunted and grabbed her pale wrists, but they didn't budge. The witch's grip kept tightening and the girl below her was slowly losing air.

Soul was finally the one to pull her off of Maka. He took Emmett's arms and forced her to face him, giving her a look of disappointment through the white bangs brushed over his eyes. She sent him a hard stare before sighing. "You're lucky you're cute..." she muttered, brushing his hands off and ignoring Maka's coughs in the background.

Maka sat up once she regained her breath and lightly tugged on Soul's jacket. "Thank you..." she said.

When he turned to face her though, she wished she had swallowed her words. She knew this expression well, but he never used it towards her—it was only aimed at anyone or anything that tried to hurt her.

Hatred.

He stormed off ahead to follow the brunette, leaving his lover in the dust with a lump in her throat. The witch glanced back over her shoulder. "Soul says he doesn't want to travel with you anymore," she said shortly, folding her arms over her chest and turning back to the albino. "Sorry, but you'll have to put up with it for now," she told him. "Once we're back at base, you'll never have to see her again."

They began to climb a fallen tower that blocked the road, and Maka had to remain silent in order to keep herself from crying.

* * *

Getting to the gates that led to the desert was taking longer than Emmett had hoped for due to the amount of rubble that kept detouring them. "And where the hell are the rest of my comrades?" she grumbled under her breath. What's even more annoying was that Maka was trailing a little too far behind them. Her lips lowered to a scowl. _'This is the savior of humanity?'_

She gazed at Soul, who flashed her a small smile. She returned the smile; be that as it may, she still wanted to get rid of this lost puppy as much as she wanted to stab Sulking Sally behind them. Sure, he was cute, but he's getting too clingy for her. _'Maybe I shouldn't keep getting between the two of them... After all, I'm technically not following the instructions they gave us at base,'_ she thought to herself.

_Emmett was amused by the blue-haired clown that was babbling to all the low-class witches preparing to leave. In fact, he was so amusing that most of them barely paid attention to what he was saying, including said ant witch. _

_"...If we could go out there and find them ourselves, we would, but we're being forced to stay here on guard," said a taller, Japanese girl next to him, a genuine look of despair on both of their faces. "Maka Albarn and Soul Evans are crucial to our victory, and important friends of ours, so we're trusting you ladies to help us."_

_"You already know what they look like," the blue-haired boy spoke, lifting up a flier that a majority of the witches had in hand. "Soul is pretty easy-going, so there should be no problems with him. However, Maka had just recently come out of a kind-of-destructive depression, so to keep it that way, don't piss her off, and don't separate the two. You're all dismissed."_

_"And be safe!" the Japanese girl called as they all began to leave._

"Hey." Emmett elbowed Soul's arm and he shuddered. "You do know that she's your girlfriend, right?" She gestured her head towards Maka and Soul quirked a brow in question. She rolled her eyes. "_Girlfriend_. You know, holding hands? Kissing? Telling her petty nonsense to make her happy? Whatever you humans do. Do you even remember what love is?" He nodded and grabbed her hand, resulting in her nails swiping at his fingers. "No, you idiot! You love her, not me! I barely know you!"

They turned another street and the walls barricading the city were finally in sight, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Finally! I'll be out of here soon and—"

The ground beneath Emmett was suddenly gone and she found herself floating over a dark abyss. It only took a second to register that the street had collapsed, and gravity took her and Soul down with it. They silently fell for under a second before Sulking Sally had reacted just in time and, after tumbling a bit, snatched up both of their hands.

It ended with Maka laying on her stomach and leaning over the edge, and her companions were dangling below her over the vast dark trench, clutching to her hand for dear life. "Try to pull yourselves up...!" she grunted, attempting to shift to her knees, but the weight on her arms were too much.

"Meister, they found us!" Emmett called from below. "I feel them coming!"

"And why can't I?"

"I don't know, it has something to do with human senses!"

Maka's gritted her teeth at this annoying conversation. "Just start climbing!"

Emmett didn't think twice about starting to climb, reaching her hand up to clutch Maka's left shoulder. The crack was heard when she pulled her weight up, and Maka released a short scream. "Shit!" the witch cursed. "Was that your shoulder? I think that was your shoulder—"

"_Emmett!_"

Sending her a quick apologetic look, Emmett rushed up Maka's arm, ignoring her groans of pain, and crawled back to the safety of the ground. The ash-blonde glanced at Soul and tried to ease his fear with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall!" she said, lowering her injured arm to grab his wrist. "I promise."

"Hurry up," Emmett urged behind them. Maka silenced her before proceeding to lift Soul up until there was a roar in the distance, causing the ground to tremble again. "They're getting closer!" she then shouted. "Hurry—!"

But when she turned to look at them, Maka and Soul were already being pulled into the dark crater from the street crumbling again, and it was too late to catch them. The witch shrieked and scurried to the edge, screaming their names into the black pit, but her echo was the only response. Her skin went cold, and within seconds, she completely forgot about the demon heading in her direction.

_"...Get down here!"_

Her head shot up at the sound of that faded echo reaching her ears. She quirked a fine eyebrow and stuck her head over the hole. "...Huh?"

_"This pit isn't that deep!"_ It was Maka's voice. _"Jump down and you'll be fine!"_

Emmett didn't think twice about leaping in when she heard another roar from behind, the aura of the demon felt just around the corner. She didn't brace herself for such a short fall, and wheezed when she landed on the dozens of broken slate.

She was immediately dragged behind a wall of concrete, followed by a hand quickly slapping over her mouth. She prayed that it was Maka's glove. "Shh," she heard from behind. Emmett gazed up at the opening to see the shadow of the demon looming over the area. It's sniffing was quite loud, for she could hear it perfectly clear as if the brute was right next to her. This continued for a few minutes before it finally gave out a growl of frustration and left.

The hand was raised from her face and she sighed in relief, turning around to find Maka standing in the dim light from the hole, Soul leaning on her and resting his head on her shoulder. "It's gone, right?" Maka asked.

The witch gave a hesitant nod before glancing at her left arm. "I think I pulled your arm out of its socket…"

Maka jerked back when the brunette's pale hands reached for her arm. "It's fine," she set forth.

Emmett frowned and refused to argue. "You're our only fighter." She pointed a finger at Soul. "Boyfriend, hold her."

Soul was slightly reluctant to wrap his arms around her, but luckily this only made Maka more submissive. She stood still and looked away when the ant witch gripped her arm, screaming through closed lips when the bone snapped back into place. The meister rotated her arm once they stepped back from her, and she gave Emmett a small but appreciated "thank you."

After waiting out for another few minutes, they crept back to the surface like a couple of sly cats, and broke out into a sprint for the gates. With one powerful kick, Maka broke open one of the large wooden doors that closed the city off from the desert. The noise was much more vibrant than they expected, so they used up the last of their energy to run as far as they could. The dry wind crashed into their faces like a wet cloth, and it was one of the greatest feelings Maka had in a long while.

* * *

"...This fear is different from the Kishin's madness."

For once, Emmett's voice sounded comforting when it sliced through the chorus of woods and pipes creaking. The empty building they resided in for what felt like the evening was a very old chapel amongst the scattered buildings along the road in the desert that leads into Death City.

Maka glanced up from the floor, sitting on a dusty velvet pillow she found, while Soul laid down on one of the wooden benches near the front. "Huh?"

"The thing that the demons are using as a source of power," the pale girl continued, a tone of uncertainty in her voice. "It's fear, but different. It's not madness... Um, the fear that Asura used was directed towards one's sanity, right?" Maka nodded when she looked up for reassurance. "Well... This fear is, uh... It's, like, directed towards a specific fear that someone has and manipulates it to use it against them. Like..."

"What you're trying to say is that it's adaptable and responsive," the meister said, deciding to step in. "It's strong enough to adjust itself to every individual and, as you said, uses his or her greatest fears against them."

"Exactly!" Emmett exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "But it's not a fear of something like, say, I'm afraid of water. They aim for something more psychological and deep, and apparently create hallucinations to scare you into its submission."

"You don't know very well yourself, do you?"

"I know that much, but like I said, it's hard to put into words." She sighed. "Basically, the demons are victims of this fear, and they're being controlled by it."

"By what?"

"The scorpions I told you about. They inject it into your bloodstream."

Maka's eyes widened, and she recalled the eagle that screamed and cried into the sky. _'It couldn't be... The Black Blood experiment, could it? But Medusa is...'_

She placed her hand on her chin. "So those demons... They looked like witches, but they also had other animal traits merged into theirs. Was that because of this fear? Why...?"

She trailed off when she noticed Emmett bring her hand to cover her mouth, and she hunched over with a sick look in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry..." she uttered out. "That's a gory and uncomfortable matter to discuss..."

Her green eyes softened and she sighed, gazing at Soul for a moment before staring at the ground. "Never mind..."

Once silence fell upon them again, Emmett and Soul fell asleep, and Maka decided to let them enjoy their little nap. She sighed and rested her back against the altar. _'Medusa is dead and we know it, so... It's possible that someone else knows about her Black Blood experiments. If that's the case, then is it a witch? They must have a lot of knowledge on it to be able to alter it to such an effect...'_ She closed her eyes and frowned. _'And Kid... What happened to him? Why hasn't he come for us sooner...?'_

Her head shot up at the sound of a loud creak by the door, and she barely witnessed a shadow escaping out into the light. She jumped to her feet on guard and silently followed it, leaving Emmett and Soul behind; they would only get in the way.

It was windy outside, which caused not only dust, but also Maka's hair to fly into her face and raise her agitation level. Huffing, she yanked off her pink tie and watched the shadowed figure flee into the rocky landscape as she tied her hair up into a high ponytail. She immediately chased after, able to catch another glimpse of it as it cornered one boulder after another.

"Stop!" she yelled, rounding a giant stone and trapping it in a dead end. A rocky cliff blocked its path, and Maka slowly approached, taking note of how small it was and how it was releasing small giggles every few seconds. With its dark back still to her, it tried climbing the rock wall, but failed and fell flat on its bottom. It continued to giggle.

"Who are you?" she demanded, stopping just a few feet away, but close enough to catch it if it tried to run.

The shadowed figure removed its hands from its face and turned around, giggling, **"Peek-a-boo, I'm you!"** The shadows faded away, revealing a young face, innocent green eyes, and ash-blonde hair tied into two tiny pigtails.

Maka's eyes dilated and she jumped back with a gasp. She swiped her arm at the little girl that resembled her so well, her legs trembling. "No! Go away!" she shouted, continuously taking steps backwards.

**"Why? I just want to talk!"** the little girl responded, skipping after her.

"Leave me alone!"

**"Why don't you love Mama anymore?"** it asked, making Maka flinch. **"Mama's so nice, and gentle, and caring—"**

"No, you're wrong! They're all lies!" Maka was gripping her head and shaking it. "She never loved me! She's a liar! She used me!"

She somehow ended up on the ground and the little girl was towering over her. **"Are you going to betray her just like you betrayed Papa?"**

Maka raised her head. "Papa… I-I never...!"

The atmosphere had changed at some point—she was not in the desert anymore and the sky was not gray. The ground below her had turned into layers of dark flower petals that stuck together and rippled like water while the background became a mess of neon watercolor paints that sloppily mixed together. Their shadows were pitch black and expanded behind them for what seemed like miles.

"I love Papa!" she burst out.

**"Oh, please, you hypocrite,"** it continued. **"You just bounced back to him and spat trifling words you never meant,"** its voice slowly began to darken, **"just so he could forgive you for your ignorance—the ignorance that caused you to abandon him in the first place, and like always, you just take advantage of the love he's obliged to give you, **_**his**__**daughter**_**—"**

"Shut up!" Maka screamed, burying her face into her knees. "Go away! Go away! Go away! I don't want this!"

She felt the flower petals float across her skin all over her body as the little girl knelt down, softly saying, **"But I can't go away if I'm a part your mind and soul."**

"MAKA!"

Along with the cry of her name, she felt her body rip in two as a hand wrenched her out of that dimension she was suddenly drawn into. The colorful sky broke, and the petals gently resting on her body became small, black scorpions, scattering and retreating to their rocks. There were loud noises in the background, but they were muffled. Although, these sounds were similar to those of whenever she battled a Kishin Egg—loud thumps, inhuman screeching, bones cracking, and grunts of pain.

The change of reality caused Maka to scream again, but she forced her eyes open at the firm grip on her shoulders. They met Soul's eyes. He was the one holding onto her, his face filled with concern.

"...Did you just... Say my name...?" she breathed out, leaning closer to him and sliding her hand over his. His face remained unmoved, as if he didn't hear her, and before she could ask again, Emmett appeared behind her, grabbing the meister by the collar and jerking her back.

"You idiot!" the witch shouted angrily. "You can't just run off on your own! You were almost consumed by the fear! You would've been lost in it forever!"

As Maka's hearing came into place, she could finally make out one last crushing sound, followed by a dying screeching. "What is…?" She stopped mid-sentence when her eyes landed on the now deceased demon lying just a few meters away from them—a large alligator with the hooves of a horse and the shredded wings of a moth. However, her eyes were concentrated on the person who stood victoriously on top of the dead creature with a crooked grin.

"You've been gone for too long, Maka."

As if she forgot how to stand, Maka struggled to her feet when forcing herself to run forward, almost falling flat on her face. She threw her arms around the muscular figure that met her halfway, letting go of a shaky breath she had been holding in for so long. Her left hand moved its way up to stroke the familiar scar on that tan cheek under blue eyes.

"Black Star..." she sobbed, her voice cracking as if there was something stuck in her throat.

Black Star sighed and placed one arm around her waist and the other on her head. "Good grief, you guys..." he muttered. Her sobbing wouldn't end, and she finally released all of the tears she'd been holding back onto his shoulder, tightening her arms around her childhood friend.

His sword asked to be dropped, so he obeyed when it began to glow, and it transformed into the Japanese beauty that was Tsubaki Nakatsuka. She covered her mouth with her hands, hiding a relieved smile behind them. "Thank goodness you two are all right..." she said softly as she turned her head towards Soul and Emmett. "Soul, are you—?"

Soul retreated behind Emmett. "He doesn't have any memory," the witch explained, combing a few strands of her hair. "They both have amnesia, but his is much worse. I found them like that."

"What?" she asked in disbelief. Her eyes softened at the sight of him—the nonchalant, composed, and collective boy she was once good friends with now cowered away from her, seeking protection from a _witch_ of all people. "...I see. Thank you so much for finding them, Miss...?"

"Emmett."

"Ah, Emmett." Tsubaki's lips curved into a smile that warmed any soul. She bowed. "We owe you so much..." After bending back up, she reached her hand out to her albino friend. "Soul? I'm probably the last person you remember, but you and I are friends..." she said to him gently. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

He peered at her hand for a moment before willingly taking it. She giggled and pulled him closer. "There, see? We'll all help you get your memory back together, okay?"

Tsubaki wanted to take a picture when his cheeks went pink and a childish smile spread across his face. She only giggled again before glancing at Emmett again. "Um... How is Maka taking this?"

The witch sighed. "She's a wreck, and her impatience is killing their relationship." She turned her back to them. "You should teach her a thing or two about passiveness."

The weapon frowned, but chose not to respond, turning back to her meister and the weeping Maka. She led Soul over to them, and when Black Star opened his mouth to say something stupid to his old best friend, she leaned over and whispered in his ear. His eyes widened. "You serious...?" She nodded and he groaned, patting Maka's back. "Then we should get going. Come on, Maka, stand up." Her eyes met his and he smirked. "I know I'm amazingly strong, but I'm not carrying you."

* * *

_Soul's suspicions (and jealousy) kept rising with each day that passed by. Ever since Black Star informed him of Kid and Maka's "secret relationship," he now notices how much time the two have been spending together recently. In fact, he can't recall the last time he had her to himself for a day._

_But now the signs are more obvious—they're constantly walking and talking together, smiling and laughing, there's more physical contact, and Soul even once witnessed Kid giving her a warm hug, resting the side of his head against hers, before thanking her and leaving. He's been leaving the Death Room more often, and when he does, he's only seen with her._

_No way._

_Soul easily came to realize that Black Star was correct, which he would never admit to the star, and that he did like Maka. She was perfect for him and he knew that he'd never meet another girl like her, nor would he be able to consider their close relationship as just friendship. He wanted them to be more than that, but that clearly wasn't possible if a certain reaper kept getting in the way. _

_However, he couldn't reveal even to himself how possessive he was becoming, or even how possessive he was to start with. To him, it was just being protective, and he'll recall it beginning the time they were stuck in the book of Eibon to find Kid. Watching Giriko tackle her and promise to rape her (along with hearing Maka's consent to it) just didn't fly with Soul._

_He'll deny it, but he would probably love if she walked around with a sign that printed __**"I belong to Soul Evans"**__ in big, bold letters. Kid was indeed a close friend to him, and he cared for him, but there are some things that Soul wouldn't share, and until he got to the bottom of this, Maka was on that list._

_Now it was time for Soul to confirm his skepticism by approaching Kid about it. Being Maka's weapon and Kid's close friend, the Death scythe was in a wonderful position to obtain all information if he went about it the right way; he had to be subtle and trivial. If he progressed with a demanding attitude, it would only end on Kid's bad side, and possibly Maka's as well. _

_As he expected, Death the Kid was found in the DWMA's colossal library and shockingly not with Maka, but with his weapons instead. "Patty, stop!" Soul heard him snap when he caught the younger Thompson sister trying to color sexual words in an English-German dictionary. "Liz, _please_ control your sister."_

_"Do I look like her mother to you?" Liz sassed, holding down the ladder that Kid was standing on. He gave her a look and she sighed exasperatingly. "Patty, let's go get some coffee instead of coloring."_

_"Sure, Sis! I'm in the mood for a latte!" Patty giggled, taking her sister's hand and skipping off. _

_'Now's my chance,' Soul thought, appearing from behind a bookshelf and tilting his head up. "Yo," he greeted._

_Startled, Kid glanced down from his book and lightly smiled. "I thought I felt another presence," he said as he began to climb down. "What are you doing here of all places? No offense."_

_"Just came here to talk, that's all."_

_Death's son tilted his head. "Oh? About what?"_

_"What's going on between you and Maka?"_

_Completely subtle._

_Kid blinked before arching a brow. "Maka?" A playful grin slowly crept on his face. "Why? Are you jealous that we're spending so much time together?"_

_"N-No!" the other male sputtered._

_Kid chuckled and pushed the ladder back where he found it. "Your feelings for her must be really strong for to confront me like this."_

_He was lightly blushing. "Yeah, so?"_

_"You don't need to worry. There's nothing like that going on between Maka and I," the latter explained, fixing a book on another shelf. "We're just getting closer, that's all."_

_"Well, how do I know you're not lying?" Soul pointed a finger accusingly at him. "How do you know she might not have feelings for you?"_

_So much for his plan. _

_Kid almost rolled his eyes. "Soul, please. We wouldn't hide something like that, and I know for a fact that she doesn't have any romantic interest in me."_

_Soul folded his arms over his chest. "Don't pretend like anyone hasn't noticed the way you two have been acting with each other. It doesn't look like 'just friends' anymore."_

_Kid sighed. "Soul..."_

_"Heck, even Black Star is starting to go around and spread rumors. If you like her then you can tell me!"_

_"I obviously can't if you're going to react like this."_

_"Aha!" Another accusing finger. "You just admitted it!"_

_The reaper lowered his eyelids. "Actually, I didn't. Maka and I are just talking. That's it."_

_"What could you two possibly be talking about so much, then?" he asked._

_It didn't go unnoticed by Soul when Kid turned his head away. "Nothing important," he replied._

_"It must be important for you to see her so regularly. Besides, anything you tell her should be trusted by the rest of us," Soul objected._

_"It's not that simple, Soul."_

_Soul's eyebrows furrowed. "That just further proves that what you two are hiding is important." He ran a hand through his white hair. "Look, Kid, I know how Azusa's been asking you about an heir and stuff, so I... Guess I can understand if you picked Maka?" He didn't respond, but instead began looking for other things to distract himself with. Soul followed. "I want to know so I won't pursue my feelings for her if you two are... Dating," he persisted._

_Turning his back to him, Kid snatched another book off a shelf and growled out, "Soul..."_

_"Really, if you leave me hanging like this, then it'll only be harder to let go of her." He swallowed hard as he watched Kid tighten his grip on the book. "And I'll have no problem with fighting for her, either. If you don't answer truthfully, then I'm not going to give up on—"_

_"I'm gay!"_

_..._

_"E-Excuse me...?"_

_Kid finally turned to glare at him with piercing golden eyes, far apart from his flustered face. "I'm not attracted to women, Soul!" he stated lowly and as quietly as he could._

_Soul blinked and took a moment before his lips slowly parted into an 'o' shape, followed by a sound of realization. "I'm... Sorry," he uttered._

_"And _that's_ why I've been seeing Maka so much!" Kid was speaking fast-paced now, and almost in a whisper. "Because I'm still trying to cope with these feelings and also shoulder the fact that I need a successor! And she's the only person that I can trust with this information at the moment because if this goes public, a lot of people will start to look down on me, and my father would not be proud of that! Maka is the one that brings my spirits up!"_

_"Um... What about Liz and Patty?"_

_He snorted. "Like they can keep their mouths shut." He angrily threw his book back into the shelf. "Azusa won't stop bothering me about this crap and it's making me very, very uncomfortable, so I don't know what else to do but ask Maka for comfort and advice. There, is that the answer you wanted?"_

_Soul winced at the last sentence. "I'm sorry, Kid," he apologized again. "I... Didn't mean to force that out of you. I'm sorry."_

_"Well, you did, so you better not tell anyone." He poked the albino's chest for emphasis. "That makes two people who know and I want to keep it that way, got it?"_

_Red eyes softened and he smiled. "I promise I won't, but I think you should tell everyone else. They seriously won't mind."_

_"Hm, I'll think about it," he said absently._

_"Ah... Can I ask what caused you to, err, come out of the closet?"_

_"No."_

_"Was it a certain someone?"_

_Golden orbs glared through striped bangs. "Haven't you meddled enough?"_

_Soul smirked and decided to push his limits. "Have you tried expressing your feelings towards him?"_

_"...N-No, not really..." Kid answered, mostly to himself. He covered his mouth with his hand, his cheeks turning a light shade of red again. "After all, I don't think he swings that way... I'm trying to get over it, but he doesn't know the meaning of personal space, and he makes my heart throb—" He suddenly gasped, realizing that he was speaking aloud, and flung a hard-covered book at the grinning Soul. "Go away! And do _not_ tell Maka or anyone what I just said!"_

_Soul began to laugh as he ran off. "Sure thing, Lord Death!"_

_"Shut up!"_

* * *

**EOC.**

**I HAD TO OKAY I'M SORRY DON'T SPEAR ME—**

**Kid is so cute though I want a body pillow of him can I please just hnnggg tlk dirty 2 me pls lordy giVE ME THE BOOTY—**

**Um  
**

**I can't wait to make Black Star more relevant; I guess another goal of this story is to show that Soul Eater characters aren't as one-sided as people make them to be, such as everyone thinks Kid is all about his OCD and Black Star is a heartless asshole. **

**Thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my midterms, I really appreciated it, but I still can't pass physics no matter how much I study U u U;**

**Oh, and happy late Valentine's Day to everyone! I regret not writing another SoMa one-shot like last year, but alas, I couldn't come up with any ideas. ; u ; Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

**Today Is A Beautiful Day~**

**-Strengthx3**


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